I have the habit of reading the New York Times on my mobile almost daily, and that is where I first heard about Shoot the damn dog. I believe it was in an article about the most interesting books in the past year. Being a book about mental issues, I was intrigued.

It is an autobiography written by Sally. Sally used to be a very successful woman, she worked on Vogue, started Elle in United Kingdom, she has been a full time writer and more. I bet she rushed around from meeting to meeting, ate when there were a few minutes to spare and attended parties at night.

In 2000 something happened as her mood went from happy to despair. The trip down took about one year and it marked the beginning of four years in and out of institutions, of days when she writes she could not get out of bed, when she drank to feel better or sobbed for hours on end. This book is her account of those years and how she managed to return to life. Today she manages her depression and she is free of many of the old burdens. She is again a successful woman.

I liked Shoot the damn dog and I think the book serves an important purpose. It is vital to remove the stigma of mental issues and problems, as Sally notes in the book she often wished that depression was visible in the way a broken bone and a cask are. This books helps make it visible. Knowledge and information is good. If everybody knew more, I am certain the world would be a better place. And after Sally's book, I know a lot more about depression from a depressed point of view. It is also a very entertaining read, she writes very well and fluid.